There have been 45 women in the Tasmanian House of Assembly since its establishment in 1856. Women have had the right to vote since 1903 and the right to stand as candidates since 1921.
The first successful female candidates for the House of Assembly were Amelia Best and Mabel Miller, both Liberals, who were elected in 1955. In 1962, Miller (Best had lost election twice, in 1956 and 1959) was joined by the first Labor woman, Lynda Heaven. In 1964, both Miller and Heaven left the House, and women were not represented again until 1976, when Labor's Gill James was elected. Since then women have been continuously represented in the House.
Christine Milne and Di Hollister were the first women elected to represent the Greens in 1989. Kristie Johnston was the first independent woman elected in 2021, although Mary Willey, Madeleine Ogilvie and Sue Hickey had served as independents after leaving their parties. Kathryn Hay was the first Indigenous woman elected to the Tasmanian parliament in 2002.
Lara Giddings became the first female Premier of Tasmania on 24 January 2011.
With the re-election of Madeleine Ogilvie on 11 September 2019, the House of Assembly became Australia's first state to elect a majority of women members in one house, with 13 of the 25 members being female.[1]
Names in bold indicate women who have been appointed as Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries during their time in Parliament. Names in italics indicate women who were first elected at a recount, and * symbolises members that have sat as members in both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.
Name | Party | Electoral Division | Period of service | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Amelia Best | Liberal | Wilmot | 19 February 1955 - 13 October 1956 (defeated) 24 November 1958 - 2 May 1959 (defeated) |
Mabel Miller | Liberal | Franklin | 19 February 1955 - 2 May 1964 (defeated) | |
3 | Lynda Heaven | Labor | Franklin | 2 March 1962 - 2 May 1964 (defeated) |
4 | Gill James | Labor | Bass | 11 December 1976 - 8 February 1986 (defeated) 1 February 1992 - 20 July 2002 (retired) |
5 | Mary Willey | Labor/Independent | Bass | 28 July 1979 - 27 May 1982 (defeated) |
6 | Carmel Holmes | Liberal | Denison | 25 June 1984 - 8 February 1986 (defeated) |
7 | Judy Jackson | Labor | Denison | 8 February 1986 - 18 March 2006 (retired) |
Fran Bladel | Labor | Franklin | 8 February 1986 - 9 April 2002 (retired) | |
9 | Christine Milne | Greens | Lyons | 13 May 1989 - 29 August 1998 (defeated) |
Di Hollister | Greens | Braddon | 13 May 1989 - 29 August 1998 (defeated) | |
11 | Carole Cains | Liberal | Braddon | 1 February 1992 - 24 February 1996 (defeated) 17 July 1997 - 29 August 1998 (defeated) |
Sue Napier | Liberal | Bass | 1 February 1992 - 19 March 2010 (retired) | |
13 | Peg Putt | Greens | Denison | 2 March 1992 - 7 July 2008 (resigned) |
14 | Denise Swan | Liberal | Lyons | 12 December 1995 - 20 July 2002 (defeated) |
15 | Lara Giddings | Labor | Lyons Franklin | 24 February 1996 - 29 August 1998 (defeated) 20 July 2002 - 3 March 2018 (retired) |
Paula Wriedt | Labor | Franklin | 24 February 1996 - 18 January 2009 (resigned) | |
17 | Kathryn Hay | Labor | Bass | 20 July 2002 - 18 March 2006 (retired) |
18 | Heather Butler | Labor | Lyons | 10 May 2005 - 20 March 2010 (defeated) |
19 | Michelle O'Byrne | Labor | Bass | 18 March 2006 - |
Lisa Singh | Labor | Denison | 18 March 2006 - 20 March 2010 (defeated) | |
21 | Cassy O'Connor | Greens | Denison/Clark | 21 July 2008 - 13 July 2023 (resigned) |
22 | Elise Archer | Liberal | Denison/Clark | 20 March 2010 - 4 October 2023 (resigned) |
Jacquie Petrusma | Liberal | Franklin | 20 March 2010 - 25 July 2022 (resigned) 23 March 2024 – | |
Rebecca White | Labor | Lyons | 20 March 2010 - | |
25 | Sarah Courtney | Liberal | Bass | 15 March 2014 - 10 February 2022 (resigned) |
Madeleine Ogilvie | Labor/Independent/Liberal | Denison/Clark | 15 March 2014 - 3 March 2018 (defeated) 13 September 2019 - | |
Joan Rylah | Liberal | Braddon | 15 March 2014 - 3 March 2018 (defeated) 26 February 2019 - 27 July 2020 (resigned) | |
28 | Andrea Dawkins | Greens | Bass | 9 June 2015 - 3 March 2018 (defeated) |
29 | Rosalie Woodruff | Greens | Franklin | 17 August 2015 - |
30 | Jen Butler | Labor | Lyons | 3 March 2018 - |
Anita Dow | Labor | Braddon | 3 March 2018 - | |
Ella Haddad | Labor | Denison/Clark | 3 March 2018 - | |
Sue Hickey | Liberal/Independent | Denison/Clark | 3 March 2018 - 1 May 2021 (defeated) | |
Jennifer Houston | Labor | Bass | 3 March 2018 - 1 May 2021 (defeated) | |
Alison Standen | Labor | Franklin | 3 March 2018 - 1 May 2021 (defeated) | |
36 | Janie Finlay | Labor | Bass | 1 May 2021 - |
Kristie Johnston | Independent | Clark | 1 May 2021 - | |
38 | Lara Alexander | Liberal | Bass | 25 February 2022 - 23 March 2024 (defeated) |
39 | Tabatha Badger | Greens | Lyons | 23 March 2024 - |
Miriam Beswick | Jacqui Lambie Network | Braddon | 23 March 2024 - | |
Meg Brown | Labor | Franklin | 23 March 2024 - | |
Helen Burnet | Greens | Clark | 23 March 2024 - | |
Jane Howlett | Liberal | Lyons | 23 March 2024 - | |
Rebekah Pentland | Jacqui Lambie Network | Bass | 23 March 2024 - | |
Cecily Rosol | Greens | Bass | 23 March 2024 - |
DateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:1950 till:2025TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1950
Colors = id:LP value:blue legend: Liberal Party of Australia id:AL value:red legend: Australian Labor Party id:AG value:green legend: Tasmanian Greens/Australian Greens id:JL value:yellow legend: Jacqui Lambie Network id:ID value:gray(0.6) legend: Independent
Legend = columns:3 left:150 top:50 columnwidth:200
BarData = bar:Best barset:MHAs bar:James bar:Willey barset:MHAs2 bar:Cains barset:MHAs3 bar:Giddings barset:MHAs4 bar:Petrusma barset:MHAs5 bar:Ogilvie bar:Rylah barset:MHAs6 bar:Hickey barset:MHAs7
PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Best from:1955 till:1956 color:LP text:" from:1958 till:1959 color:LP text:"Amelia Best (1955–1956, 1958–1959)" barset:MHAs from:1955 till:1964 color:LP text:"Mabel Miller (1955–1964)" from:1962 till:1964 color:AL text:"Lynda Heaven (1962–1964)" bar:James from:1976 till:1986 color:AL text:" from:1992 till:2002 color:AL text:Gill James (1976–1986, 1992–2002)" bar:Willey from:1979 till:1981 color:AL text:" from:1981 till:1982 color:ID text:"Mary Willey (1979–1982)" barset:MHAs2 from:1984 till:1986 color:LP text:"Carmel Holmes (1984–1986)" from:1986 till:2002 color:AL text:"Fran Bladel (1986–2002)" from:1986 till:2006 color:AL text:"Judy Jackson (1986–2006)" from:1989 till:1998 color:AG text:"Di Hollister (1989–1998)" from:1989 till:1998 color:AG text:"Christine Milne (1989–1998)" bar:Cains from:1992 till:1996 color:LP text:" from:1997 till:1998 color:LP text:"Carole Cains (1992–1996, 1997–1998)" barset:MHAs3 from:1992 till:2010 color:LP text:"Sue Napier (1992–2010)" from:1992 till:2008 color:AG text:"Peg Putt (1992–2008)" from:1995 till:2002 color:LP text:"Denise Swan (1995–2002)" bar:Giddings from:1996 till:1998 color:AL text:" from:2002 till:2018 color:AL text:"Lara Giddings (1996–1998, 2002–2018)" barset:MHAs4 from:1996 till:2009 color:AL text:"Paula Wriedt (1996–2009)" from:2002 till:2006 color:AL text:"Kathryn Hay (2002–2006)" from:2005 till:2010 color:AL text:"Heather Butler (2005–2010)" from:2006 till:2025 color:AL text:"Michelle O'Byrne (2006–present)" from:2006 till:2010 color:AL text:"Lisa Singh (2006–2010)" from:2008 till:2023 color:AG text:"Cassy O'Connor (2008–2023)" from:2010 till:2025 color:LP text:"Elise Archer (2010–present)" bar:Petrusma from:2010 till:2022 color:LP text:" from:2024 till:2025 color:LP text:"Jacquie Petrusma (2010–2022, 2024–present)" barset:MHAs5 from:2010 till:2025 color:AL text:"Rebecca White (2010–present)" from:2014 till:2022 color:LP text:"Sarah Courtney (2014–2022)" bar:Ogilvie from:2014 till:2018 color:AL text:" from:2019 till:2021 color:ID text:" from:2021 till:2025 color:LP text:"Madeleine Ogilvie (2014–2018, 2019–present)" bar:Rylah from:2014 till:2018 color:LP from:2019 till:2020 color:LP text:"Joan Rylah (2014–2018, 2019–2020)" barset:MHAs6 from:2015 till:2018 color:AG text:"Andrea Dawkins (2015–2018)" from:2015 till:2025 color:AG text:"Rosalie Woodruff (2015–present)" from:2018 till:2025 color:AL text:"Jen Butler (2018–present)" from:2018 till:2025 color:AL text:"Anita Dow (2018–present)" from:2018 till:2025 color:AL text:"Ella Haddad (2018–present)" bar:Hickey from:2018 till:2020 color:LP text:" from:2020 till:2021 color:ID text:"Sue Hickey (2018–2021)" barset:MHAs7 from:2018 till:2021 color:AL text:"Jennifer Houston (2018–2021)" from:2018 till:2021 color:AL text:"Alison Standen (2018–2021)" from:2021 till:2025 color:AL text:"Janie Finlay (2021–present)" from:2021 till:2025 color:ID text:"Kristie Johnston (2021–present)" from:2022 till:2024 color:LP text:"Lara Alexander (2022–2024)" from:2024 till:2025 color:AG text:"Tabatha Badger (2024–present)" from:2024 till:2025 color:JL text:"Miriam Beswick (2024–present)" from:2024 till:2025 color:AL text:"Meg Brown (2024–present)" from:2024 till:2025 color:AG text:"Helen Burnet (2024–present)" from:2024 till:2025 color:JL text:"Rebekah Pentland (2024–present)" from:2024 till:2025 color:AG text:"Cecily Rosol (2024–present)" barset:skip